What is in a Name

So as many of you know I have had two major nicknames over the course of my life. Before we talk about them in detail, lets talk about nicknames in general. A person's given name is just that, given, but your parents, or the state, before you have had any time to really bring forward any part of your own personality. And while a rose by any other name smells just as sweet, it still is still not a rose. Names are important. Nicknames are more important.

As stated earlier, I have had two major nicknames most of my list. The first, Brick, is a clear derivation from my last name, Bricklemyer. It may be a sign that most people who use this are just initially to lazy to use my last name, granted this still means they are pronouncing an additional letter as opposed to using my first name. There is no really story around Brick, but I will answer to it. It just is luck of the draw on that one.

The second of my two nicknames, well that is a different story. Here goes...
I spent many years at JCC Klien Branch Day Camps in Philadelphia. Around my junior year in high school, I was a junior councilor, and was paired up with a senior councilor who was the older brother of a good friend of mine. He was kinda a pompous ass, but he was a good guy deep down. Anyway, one day, during afternoon line-up, where the kids are picked up by their parents. My senior councilor and another councilor start to have a little shoving match in the middle of the road. I, of course, decide that this is probably not the best thing, so I get in the middle of it, and push my senior councilor away. The fight diffused at this point and everything seemed ok.

So what does this have to do with my nickname? Well, little known to me, two other councilors, who would later become two of my very closest friends, were standing on the side on the street, not knowing who I was. One turned to the other and goes "Who is that kid who broke that up" and the other says "I don't know, some Bryan Bricknhymr Kid". It stuck. Twelve years later I am still known as bricknhymr.

But something strange has happened over the past twelve years, bricknhymr has become his own persona. For example, bricknhymr can fix things. I can't fix things, I mean my father is great at fixing things, but in comparison, I have less talent in my whole body than he has in his little finger. Yet, bricknhymr can fix things. Bricknhymr is funny... I am a little lame. Bricknhymr is larger than life... I am large at least.

The nickname is important to me. It is part of who I am and I really like it.

I am bricknhymr and bricknhymr is me!!

no more crazy posts.... until the next one.

Updates: I have sunglasses... they are ok, we will see how long they last. We have picked a date for Dad - June 19th, 2012. Paul Bricklemyer, Cancer Survivor. Mom, she wants to go to a baseball game. I am moving on Thursday-Friday. I am madly in love and chasing a person I may never get to hold again, but I am going to keep trying.

An Interesting Reflection

So I took some time today to read over some of the oldest posts I did in a previous blog and it was some interesting reading. I clearly lamented for a long time in my early college years. I struggled with spelling (the url was misspelled), my emotions, and particularly women. Amazingly, even back then I knew. July 23rd 2005, I knew. I was in love, and I still am.



Okay, good post, see you later :)

A Sensless Loss

So this weekend an old co-worker sent me a yahoo article that said that someone named Ryan Bricklemyer had been shot in the chest and had passed away. Now I was reading the article, so I knew it was not about me and just had an "That is awful" reaction. Today, I did one of those vanity google searches, which I do so often, and I started to see more of the coverage. Some of the local coverage and then it happened. I saw his picture. I knew who he was. It was the kid with the really bad hippos as his myspace background. I had been trying my best to make sure his page would come up after mine in search results for the past month. It was that kid.

He was an 18 year old high school student in Fort Cherry, a football player. A bigger kid with some amazing hair. He looked like a happy guy, every picture with a smile. I went back to his myspace and started to read. Posts from friends, family. Those in shock and remembering the good times. His friends talking about the way he was able to make them laugh. There are posts talking about his seat in class and his parking space, the space that will be left for him at graduation. He just seems like an amazing person.

Strangely I feel really attached to this guy who I never meet, never knew he existed six months ago. I feel for his friends and his family. It is a terrible loss. I am hopeful that I can have the personal impact on those I come in contact with as he did, as he has on me.

Rest In Peace : Ryan Bricklemyer, Fort Cherry PA, April 6 2007